Have you heard of the Mummy MOT?

Just as they say that every pregnancy is different, and every labour is different, it’s also true that every post-natal journey is different. So why is it then, in my experience, that we are happy to spend hours in workshops and on courses when we are pregnant that are all focused on birth, that we invest time in the self care of ourselves with a massage or pedicure or Pilates class as a reward for growing a small person, yet after they’ve arrived... our health and general well-being is all too often ignored or disregarded.

For those of you that know me, you’ll be aware of my tricky post-natal journey after baby number one. I won’t go into details (mainly because I’m not sure I’m ready to open up about it yet) but if I say that between pregnancy, labour and the first two years of Boo’s life that labour was the easiest part, even with complications, then hopefully that allows for some understanding of my journey. It sucked.

Last week I was invited to undergo a Mummy MOT here in Winchester with Liz Knowles. I discovered this great service after having Boo but continually put off booking an appointment for fear of what they might uncover about my failing body. Having now been through it myself, I thoroughly urge everyone to book theirs. Liz’s sessions succeed where all other areas of post natal care for Mums fails - in my experience.

At my six week check with Boo I was apprehensive about what to expect. Having had stitches and other complications I had no idea what they might need to look at so I made the appropriate preparations before attending. I couldn’t have been more wrong. The Dr's first words to me were ‘ I’ve never actually done one of these tests before’ which she stated as she gingerly handled my newborn. Great! I thought, I’ve never had a baby before so I was really hoping you’d share your inexperience with me! She left the room 3 times to ‘check’ things with other Dr’s... a great way to make me feel like everything’s ok! My check consisted of one question ‘how are you feeling?’ Which I had no idea how to answer... fine? A bit tired? I’ve no idea now what I actually said but it was then job done, form ticked, off you go, be a parent, deal with post natal bleeding, do your pelvic floor exercises, be traumatised by your labour, be unaware of the state of your body after everything it’s been through but don’t talk to me about any of it, there isn’t time. 

My time with Liz was quite different. Welcomed by a hot cup of tea (I know!!) in the beautiful surroundings of New Energy Fitness, Liz quickly made me feel at ease. Liz has trained in Women’s Health and has a number of years experience, you quickly know you’re in good hands. She knows her stuff and she wants to help.

I unloaded my post-natal story, the highlights being not being able to breast feed, significant weight gain, excruciating aches and pains, illness after illness, lethargy, sleepless nights, leaking when I coughed, basically two years of feeling like birth had left me totally out of control of my own body and feeling like nobody was listening. Nobody believed me and nobody wanted to help. We talked through all those things that we don’t really like to talk about... you know the things I mean... and Liz listened. She really listened. Not like the GP who just told me to take anti depressants, not like the GP who told me I was probably just eating too many chocolate biscuits, she listened like a woman who understood how incredible the human body is, and at the same time, how traumatic the experience must have been. Why hadn’t I come sooner?!

Through answering a detailed questionnaire in advance of your appointment, Liz already has a good indication of your problem areas. Prolapse, pelvic girdle pain, stretch marks, bladder urgency, there are a long list of areas for you to explore and Liz spends time working through the ones which are most relevant to you. At this point it is worth mentioning that each session is tailored to you and your body, my experience will be different to yours and that is the beauty of the session - it is about YOU. We had a great discussion about the pelvic floor, how it works, why it’s there, the function of it and how to engage it...it's not easy. A bit different to previous discussions in which I always felt I should just be knowing what I was doing, as a woman, so never actually asked how to do it. There is also an option of a pelvic floor examination should you wish for it to be checked out by a qualified professional.

As someone who has a hate hate relationship with their body, having someone else scrutinise it isn’t an activity which fills me with joy, more like apprehension, but Liz was incredibly sensitive to my feelings. No mirrors, no undressing, and nothing but positivity about what it could still achieve.

Standing on both feet Liz checked my instep, asked me to stand on one leg at a time, checked my hip alignment, my spine, it was fascinating what she could tell me about it just by looking. Laying down on the bed I was asked to raise my legs to 90 degree angles one at a time, engage my core muscles, a whole range of simple, achievable activities to see how my body was faring having given birth twice. She checked for muscle separation and various other tummy issues and she was thoroughly engaged in looking and listening to what my body was telling her. From this assessment she was able to create a range of personalised exercises for me to do to strengthen areas of weakness and reawaken my muscles in an appropriate way. We talked through exercise I enjoy, walking, swimming, aerobics and dancing and she talked about the danger of returning to high impact exercise too soon and doing the wrong exercises post-natally and the damaging effect it can have. I was so desperate to lose weight after baby number one I was out walking as soon as I could, back to swimming, Body Jam, Legs, Bums and Tums and it was exhausting - on top of sleep deprivation too much exercise can have a negative impact post-natally and it’s incredibly important to work with a trained post natal instructor to make sure you are treating your body correctly.

I came away from my time with Liz feeling ever so slightly more positive about my body than I had done in a while. It wasn’t a failure. It has done a magical thing bringing two children into the world and whilst it may not resemble my pre-natal body in any way, it still deserves to be loved and care for and I need to understand how it functions in its new state. I now know how to do my pelvic floor exercises and why they need to be done, I know how to approach exercise and why it is important to continue to nurture myself post-birth, I know that my experience after labour number one is not the same as what I am experiencing now, 9 weeks post birth number two, I know that every woman should undergo the Mummy MOT with Liz to create a targeted, personalised assessment of all aspects of your health after having a baby. It’s a physical trauma and we’d be mad to think that we’d got away without it having an impact on our bodies. Physical health and mental health go hand in hand and we should pay equal attention to both as mothers.

In a world where we we are incredibly hard on ourselves, berate ourselves and our bodies, have to be reminded about self care and as mothers, push ourselves to the bottom of the priority list, this is something we can do to truly invest in ourselves.

I would highly recommend you find out more about Liz and the Mummy MOT. Her passion for her work is clear and her drive to help woman understand themselves and their bodies is commendable. Qualified to assess and diagnose, Liz provides hands on treatment, expertise and practical advice. Book today.

https://www.lizknowles.co.uk/the-mummy-mot/